With all the years I have spent doing this fantastic job and the many big events I have covered, it is good to take stock every now and then. I do sometimes forget how privileged and lucky I am, although it all stems from hard work, luck, and sacrifices to some degree. This is more than a job, a profession, or a career; it is a lifetime behind the camera. And it is my privilege to photographically document another historic Cup final. I believe that when you first start out, the hype of being at the big game, the noise, and the idea of being at a cup final at a national stadium is great, but when you’re an accredited photographer, all that matters is whether you get the picture or not, and the 2023 EFL Cup Final at the iconic Wembley Stadium was no exception.

It is my responsibility to “tell a story” with the camera. It takes more than goals and celebrations to tell the story of a Cup final. I am tasked with building a collection of photographs that tell the whole story. This includes fans from both opposing sides who walk down Olympic Way towards Wembley Stadium full of hope: player warm-ups, fans inside the stadium cheering on their team, players coming out of the tunnel onto the pitch with an attendance of 85,512 that filled seats of colour and defying cheer, players lining up for the national anthem, the match itself, and of course the trophy lift, which has one set of fans filled with joy and victory and another set of fans filled with agony and defeat. So as you can see, it is more than just goals.

Covering a cup final at a national stadium does demand a lot out of you, both physically and mentally, but you get used to it. I have never known when I did not feel it physically the next day. You are always on the go. Mentally, you are always switched on; you are never off the clock. It all starts when we photographers line up outside the media accreditation door at least a few hours before the door opens. It is important to use this time wisely and go out there to Olympic Way with a camera in hand (not forgetting a card inside; we’ve all been there) and photograph the fans arriving early. After snapping a number of fans, you head back to your queued position, take out the laptop, and FTP the pictures to the photo desk. This early set of pictures is the foundation of the collection of work, so make sure you get a good set of pictures to set you up for the start of the day.

After waiting a couple of hours, I was able to collect my accreditation from the media accreditation desk and head out to the pitch to claim my photographer’s position. At this point, it is also important to get something to eat and fuel up for the match to come. After grabbing a bite to eat, you’re off again, heading outside Wembley Stadium to capture more fans arriving. The reason why I would go back out a second time is that from the start of Olympic Way all the way up the steps at Wembley Stadium, it’s completely packed with fans, so this is a time to photograph something different, a unique perspective of fans arriving at Wembley Stadium if you can. Remember, it’s all about building that collection of photographs. After finishing with the fans outside Wembley Stadium, I dash back inside the stadium and onto the pitch side to my photographer’s spot to send those photos off. Now that the fans are inside and the players are warming up, it’s all going to kick off from inside the iconic football cathedral that is Wembley Stadium.